“I guess it doesn’t hurt to haul dirt in it, so I guess that’s what we’re doing,” said D.L. Ashley, an engineer. “It’s working fine. We do it every day. Construction forces, maintenance forces have to do it in ice storms.”

There were no ice storms Thursday night, but there were some snow flurries in the area. That had beds at the Gateway Mission Rescue, a homeless shelter, packed early.

“We have the cold weather bringing in more guys to the shelter and we are more than happy to accommodate them,” said Sammie Payne, assistant manager. “We would rather have them here than out there in the cold weather.”

The freeze even has stray animals running for cover. Charles Jackson from the Animal Rescue Fund offered advice on how to help stray animals when it’s dangerously cold.

“They will be foraging for food. They will be trying to find a warm place to lay tonight,” Jackson said. “If you see an animal in that kind of condition, the likelihood is they won’t let you close enough to them to really help them, but you can leave them like a blanket or some food in a place that’s safe.”

Transportation officials said icy roads are not a concern because it’s so dry.